NEWSTARABA KILLINGS: GOV ISHAKU BLAMES BUHARI GOVERNMENT
Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku on Tuesday
said the Buhari government and the military were aware of security threats as
well as soldiers’ misconduct in the state, but chose to do nothing about them.
This was contained in a statement by Bala Dan Abu,
his Senior Special Assistant on media.
The state cited few instances that the Federal
Government and the military were informed about security breach and soldiers’
misconduct, which were allegedly ignored.
It said: “The case against the military in Taraba is
that of outright collusion against the people which has made it easy for the
Fulani militia to kill and destroy property. It is also a case of disrespect
for the Office of the Governor of Taraba State.”
The statement said in February 2016, the Ministry of
Interior influenced the visit of military investigators to investigate an
allegation against a monarch in the state, Dr. Shekarau Masa-Ibi.
Abu said the military delegation “had no courtesy to
inform the state governor” on the visit and purpose of the visit, adding: “The
Taraba State Government protested this obvious act of disrespect.” This was in
a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, dated February 23, 2016.
He said Ishaku also wrote President Muhammadu Buhari
on January 26, 2016 to complain about threat to peace and security in Taraba
State.
“In that letter signed by Governor Ishaku himself,
he lamented the devastating effects of internal conflicts involving the Fulani
and Tiv, which led to the sacking of 200 settlements in the Gassol, Bali, Ibi,
Donga and Gashaka local government areas by herdsmen.
“The governor informed the presidency about the
concerns raised by some traditional rulers in the state concerning the influx
of Fulani militia and about the attacks on their communities.
“Letters of complaints from the traditional rulers
whose communities suffered from these attacks were also attached and forwarded
to the presidency.
“Copies of this letter were sent to the National
Security Adviser, Chief of Staff to the President and the Inspector-General of
Police,” he said.
According to Abu, Ishaku wrote another letter to the
then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on July 5, 2017, drawing his
attention to “the precarious security situation as contained in a letter
written by contractors handling the Kashimbilla Dam project and called for high
level intervention.
“He called on the army, the Navy and Air Force to
establish permanent security bases in the area. This was again ignored.”
The Taraba State Government said it reported the
misconduct of the Commanding Officer of 93 Battallion, Ada Barracks in Takum on
several occasions, but no action was taken against him by the military.
The statement added: “For example, the Fulani
militia attacked communities in Takum and Ussa on May 6, 2017. The crisis led
to the abandonment of 224 cattle belonging to the Fulani herdsmen.
“The Taraba State Government took possession of
these cows and handed them over to the Commanding Officer for safe keeping
until the owners return to collect. This was meant to be a ploy to get the
perpetrators of the crisis arrested. Sadly, the Commanding Officer released the
cows without arresting anybody.
“There was another case when the commanding officer
marched soldiers to attack and brutalise communities in Kashimbilla. Property
of the people was damaged while many were injured.
“The letter said the Commanding Officer was partial
and discriminatory in the discharge of his duties and requested that he should
be transferred. The advice was ignored.”
Abu said Ishaku had always raised the alarm on
security situations in the state, but was always ignored.
He said, “On January 30, this year, The governor wrote
another letter to the Vice President to again complain about the attitude of
the Commanding Officer of 93 Battalion, Takum, Lt. Col. Ibrahim Gambari, whose
soldiers always looked the other way when the herdsmen militia come to kill.
“The governor said the security situation in the
country and in Taraba State demanded that every security officer cooperate and
take directives from the chief security officer of the state which is the
governor, but lamented that this has not been the case with the commanding
officer.
“The letter listed instances of security challenges
in which the military failed to live up to expectations.
“The letter also alerted the military authorities to
a planned massive movement of Fulani and their cows into Takum LGA, adding that
motive was to provoke the people and precipitate crisis. The military in-charge
of security in the area did nothing.
“The widely publicised report on social media and
which was investigated and confirmed to the effect that a chopper dropped arms
in a village near Wukari was downplayed by the security agencies.
“Despite efforts by the Taraba State Government to
get the military to act, they never did. Since then, the arms and ammunition
brought into the state have been used against the people in various communities
in the state by the herdsmen.
“The present Operation Ayem Akpatuma in the state
has also been discriminatory. While cutlasses and knives have been taken away
from the people, the herdsmen have been left with AK-47 rifles.
source: daily post
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